Sedimentary perspectives of Pleistocene ocean circulation and climate change from the southernmost Chilean continental margin

IODP Exp. 383 recovered two Pleistocene sedimentary sequences from the upper continental slope along the southernmost Chilean margin that are well positioned to monitor changes in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) upstream of the Drake Passage and the history of Patagonian glaciation. These sites are characterized by high sedimentation rates and a complex distribution of siliciclastic sediments with infrequent decimeter-scale beds of calcareous biogenic sediments. Unravelling ocean circulation and climate history from these sites requires a primary understanding of sedimentary provenance and transport mechanisms derived from a complete lithological characterization of the sequence. Here, we integrate downcore shipboard physical properties with sedimentological observations to fully characterize the sequences, evaluate potential for correlation and constrain regional depositional processes.

Site U1542 (52°S; 1101 m water depth) consists of a 249 m spliced sedimentary sequence containing Middle Pleistocene to Holocene sediments. It mainly consists of clayey silt that is often interbedded with thin (~75 cm) beds of calcareous sand-bearing clayey to sandy silt with foraminifera and nannofossils or foraminifera-rich nannofossil ooze. Site U1544 (55°S; 2090 m water depth) consists of a 98 m sedimentary sequence obtained from a single hole. Sediments are also dominated by silty clay, but exhibit slightly thicker beds of calcareous ooze and a significantly higher proportion of cm- to dm-scale sand beds that are interpreted as turbidites. Based on the lithology of the recovered sediments and proximity to a glaciated continental margin, terrigenous sediment is likely delivered to these locations by a combination of ice rafting, glacial meltwater plumes, episodic downslope transport from the outer continental shelf and fine-grained sediments transported by the Cape Horn Current entering the Drake Passage as the northern branch of the ACC.